Obama talks about healthcare in Virginia

Obama spoke about healthcare this morning in Newport News, Viriginia:

I know the outrage we all feel about the 45 million Americans who don’t have health insurance – kids who can’t see a doctor when they’re sick; parents cutting their pills in half and praying for the best; folks who wind up in the emergency room in the middle of the night because they’ve got nowhere else to turn.

But I also know that this is not who we are.

We are not a country where a young woman I met should have to work the night shift after a full day of college and still not be able to pay the medical bills for her sister who’s ill. That’s not right – and it’s not who we are.

We are not a country where a man I met should have to file for bankruptcy after he had a stroke, because he faced nearly $200,000 in medical costs that he couldn’t afford and his insurance company didn’t cover. That’s not right – and it’s not who we are.

We are not a country that rewards hard work and perseverance with debt and worry. We’ve never been a country that lets major challenges go unsolved and unaddressed. And we are tired of watching as year after year, candidates offer up detailed health care plans with great fanfare and promise, only to see them crushed under the weight of Washington politics and drug and insurance lobbying once the campaign is over.

That is not who we are. And that is not who we have to be.

We know change is possible. We’ve seen it across this country as governors and legislatures move ahead of Washington to pass bold health care initiatives on their own. We see people across the spectrum – doctors and patients, unions and businesses, Democrats and Republicans – coming together around this issue, because at a time when rising costs have put too many families and businesses on a collision course with financial ruin and left too many without coverage at all, they know that bandaids and half-measures just won’t do.

Now I know that at this moment, when we stand in the midst of a serious economic crisis, some might ask how we can afford to focus on health care. Well, let’s be clear: the rescue package we just passed in Congress isn’t the end of what we need to do to fix our economy – it’s just the beginning. Because the fundamentals of our economy are still not strong – contrary to what Senator McCain says. And we’ve got to address those fundamentals – and address them right now.

In other words, the question isn’t how we can afford to focus on health care – but how we can afford not to. Because in order to fix our economic crisis, and rebuild our middle class, we need to fix our health care system too. Let’s not forget, it’s not just small businesses and families who are struggling. Some of the largest corporations in America – including major American auto manufacturers – are struggling to compete in the global marketplace because of high health care costs. They’re watching their foreign competitors prosper – unburdened by these costs – as they struggle to create the good jobs we need to get our economy back on track.

Full remarks including details of how his plan will bring healthcare costs down here.